To the delight of fans worldwide, the second part of “Cobra Kai’s final season has finally arrived with the next five episodes. When we last left Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), and their students—Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Demetri (Gianni Decenzo), Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), and Devon (Oona O’Brien)—they got the shock of a lifetime.
Former ally Tory (Peyton List) had joined up with the villainous Sensei Kim Dae-Un (Hannah Kepple) and John Kreese (Martin Kove) of the Cobra Kai dojo to compete in the Sekai Taikai—the world karate championships. Season Six Part 2 picks right after the reveal and immediately thrusts us into tournament action. One of the things I’ll commend the second half of Season Six for is that they don’t give the well-known Dojos plot armor and raise the stakes.
One particular formidable foe arrives in the form of The Iron Dragon dojo led by Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan) and his star pupils Axel (Patrick Luwis) and Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham). All three make for formidable foes and kept me invested so much that I wouldn’t mind an expanded universe short film focusing on them.
The fight scenes are more aggressive this go-round but at the expense of some of the story. At the same time, Ralph Macchio gives it his all, his subplot of investing Miyagi’s past drug a bit for my taste. Thankfully, the writer’s room finds an organic way for Kenny (Dallas Dupree Young) and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) to return, along with a fan favorite I won’t reveal.
Since the men in their lives compete, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) are neglected to roles as supportive spouses and girlfriends. As for the students, when they aren’t competing, they get the typical plot lines any high school show would get when you place the characters in a fish-out-of-water scenario.
While “Cobra Kai Season Six Part 2” doesn’t top the first entry of the final season, the final moments of episode 10 go somewhere I didn’t think the series ever would, and I can’t wait to see the final episodes in 2025.
Final Grade: B
Part 2 of “Cobra Kai” Six is available to stream on Friday, November 15.
Songstress Ashanti was experiencing significant success with two platinum albums at the time of the release of her inaugural holiday project, “Ashanti’s Christmas,” on November 18, 2003. Her label head, Irv Gotti, produced most of the album. This project comprises four original songs co-written by Ashanti, in addition to six cover versions of traditional Christmas standards and carols.
Vocal quartet A Few Good Man contributed two songs to the project: a cover of “Silver Bells” and the ballad “Merry Christmas My Dear,” both of which were produced by Daryl Simmons. Demail Burks, David Morris, Aaron Hilliard, and Tony Amey were the members of the group, and after introducing themselves in the festive video for “Silver Bells,” it was only fitting that they delivered a ballad on the album.
R&B legend Luther Vandross had already solidified his place in R&B when he released his first holiday album, “This Is Christmas. Arriving in stores on October 24, 1995, “This Is Christmas” validates Vandross’s ability to sing anything.